Religious identity-based discrimination in the physician workforce: findings from a survey of Muslim physicians in the UK.

OBJECTIVE

Examine relationships between religiosity, workplace discrimination, religious accommodation and related professional and psychological outcomes among UK Muslim physicians.

METHODS

In 2021, a national survey of British Islamic Medical Association members was conducted. Statistical analyses explored associations between participant religiosity, sociodemographic characteristics and the specified outcome measures.

RESULTS

Out of 104 participants with a mean age of 39, the majority were male (56%), Asian (81%), adult immigrants to the UK (56%) and wore a beard or a hijāb (73%). Workplace experiences revealed that 40% experienced discrimination primarily based on religious identity, with 44% facing regular discrimination since medical school. Notably, 38% reported current workplace discrimination, 15% encountered patient refusals based on religion and 56% felt heightened scrutiny due to religious identity. Most struggled with prayer at work (69%), and 28% felt inadequately accommodated. In multivariate models, religiosity was associated with experiencing discrimination from patients and struggle with prayer accommodation at work but increased the odds of perceiving religious identity to be accommodated at work. Notably, participants wearing hijāb or a beard reported higher job satisfaction and lower odds of burn-out and depression. Increasing participant age lowered the odds of burn-out but increased the odds of religious discrimination at the current workplace and over one's career, as well as being passed over for professional advancement.

CONCLUSION

These findings underscore the urgent need for the National Health Service to address religious discrimination in the workplace by implementing policies that accommodate the workplace needs of Muslim physicians.